A meeting of Fate part I

It was a bright morning, mist rolled through the thick trees, and over the hills.  Mist flowers bloomed the air, surprisingly, wasn't too cold either.  Fairies everywhere were waking up in their homes getting ready to play, hunt, or help others, and it was no different for one such fairy who had just woken up with her best friend in a burrowed home dwelling inside a massive tree.



Mara floated up to Janev after waking herself up and rubbed her best friend's shoulder, "wake up sleepy head", she said before pulling the covers off of her friend, revealing a large naga tail. Janev was a gaint naga, and a "best friends" with Mara.



Janev moved lazily, her tail slumping off the left side of the bed as she tried to stand up. "Yeah I know, today we're going the ruins" she replied, "and why does this place look just like the Misty Glade Right now? I thought we were in the Fairy Pond?"



"Because it's the morning you lazy reptile" Mara retorted playfully, as she sighed at Janev's constant desire to sleep.



In the burrowed home inside the large tree, there was carved furniture, beds, a general meeting area, and something resembling a kitchen, each area had a different floor all to itself, as the tree wasn't wide enough to make a large one-story dwelling. Pictures, flowers, and rugs were everywhere, which made the house resemble something a little more permanent. As Mara floated easily through the levels of the home, she shrunk Janev to carry her to the entrance. There was a small note on a table near a door, with a letter to the both of them.



Mara picked up the letter and read it, "oh Janev, it seems the two fairies who lived here already left. They wrote a letter for us, wishing something about 'having fun'. I cant wait, I've never been to Ur-Sagol before!"



Janev slithered out the door with Mara and the giant naga said, "don't worry about it, stick with me and you'll be fine. Remember our plan though?"



Mara replied, "I flush out the thugs in the lower areas of the city, while you snatch them from above!"



Janev exclaimed happily, "and by the end of the day we might even leave Crisis jealous!"



Meanwhile, the Great Elven Mage, Bael approached the great ancient city of Ur-Sagol,  and looked upon the ruins near the Dimensional Gate just outside, remembering yesterday's events…



Yesterday morning, back in Negav, the Great Mage Bael walked out of his ground-floor apartment near the mages guild. His home looks lower-middle class, with books strewn over the couches and his bed, which gives off a "homey" feeling. His long-time friend Kaian waited near the end of the street, and they both walked in the same direction toward the Mages Guild and the Negav Security HQ.  Kaian was dressed as a newly promoted Captain, but requested no escort, as he would rather walk with his friend.



Kaian and Bael conversed to each other as they  made their way to their destinations.



Kaian exclaimed with respect, "Bael, I wish you luck on your journey. I hear you are taking your last test to become eligible for the 'Archmage' title."



Bael replied with a sense of feeling happy "Oh yes, I can't wait myself, but I can begin my journey anytime within the next week. I need to see a Client though, she wants me to retrieve another ingredient for her."



Kaian stopped Bael just outside the large square infront of the beautiful building known as the Mages Headquarters. "Bael be careful with Sera. She may come off nice, but I suspect something with her.  After all, most of her time is spent in her dimly lit room, and she doesn't let a whole lot of people in."



Bael replied, "Thank you for your concern Kaian. I'll be fine, either way by the end of the month I will have completed my last test for eligibility, I hope I bring something Important back though…"



Kaian departed from Bael and they both went their separate ways, one going to the Security HQ, and another into the mages building, and up the stairs to the assignment halls.



The Elven Great Mage Bael walked through the doors, and was greeted by one of his fellow graduates from the academy as he passed through, the floor was a stone resembling marble, there were archways, and glowing crystals in some parts of the hallways and rooms. He walked forward and through the hallway to the north until he reached a room at the end. The hallway was wide with plants growing on either side. Mages walked to and from carrying books. Although it gave off a scent of nerdiness, this was a fairly lively guild with good company and services.



Bael entered the room, and was immediately called forth to an elevated desk. He stepped on a platform and it raised itself by 3 feet. Behind the desk was the head of the Archmages, and two other fairly accomplished archmages as well.



The head of the Archmages spoke, "all right Bael, this is just a review meeting. Here is your assignment. It shouldn't be too difficult for you, having a tendency to survive…the other leading Archmages and I will welcome you upon your completion. Just remember that even when you complete this assignment you still may not be accepted. However I don't want you to worry. Leave anytime within the next week. Since this is your last of 15 tests you will get free services when it comes to potions and light equipment."



Bael bowed in thanks and said, "Thank you sir, I will leave as soon as possible, I just need to make one last stop first." With that, the three Archmages and Bael said their goodbyes, and headed off. Bael went down to the front of the guild and out the door. He walked proudly to the large center fountain where he was to meet Sera.



Sera, "there you are, I need you to retrieve Dylactyl, a rare plant that has a tendency to appear near ruins. Meaning-"



The elf cut her off saying "meaning my best bet is the ancient city of Ur-Sagol"

Sera replied, "Exactly. I wish you luck, this is important for the both of us. If you succeed you will get enough money to finally buy that house you've been wanting in the lower-mid section of the high mages living quarters."



Bael replied happily, "thank you! I'll leave as soon as possible. I have a test to complete anyway…" with that they both departed, and Bael went to the nearest kiosk to retrieve some free potions from a mage vendor before heading off to the teleporter network.  As he exited the giant megalopolis of Negav, he looked at his assignment card. It read "Ur-Sagol" on it. Somewhat expecting this, he climbed the nearest giant tree, and casted a multi-charm spell of speed and strength to propel himself quickly through the trees at a level too low for canopy Fairies and Harpies, while following the Jewel River.



As he stopped traveling down memory lane, he walked closer to the giant city and looked upon it's greatness.  It was massive, tall buildings everywhere, a very angular and blocky design with inscriptions and pictures and statues all over the walls.  There was little vegetation in contrast with the rest of Felarya, however, there were still trees popping out of the tops of broken buildings, and rubble that craked the ground beneath. Vines and some grass grew in places, along with a very mild form of Ivy. As Bael walked through the maze, he kept his guard up, ready to use an evasion spell.  He learned long ago that just because you knew spells, or could fight, doesn't mean you're safe. A good lesson in Felarya.



However, at this time, a dangerous team comprised of a Fairy, and a Giant Naga are patrolling the grounds, and the fairy happens to enter the underground just as Bael does, and from a relatively close area.



Janev and Mara enter Ur-Sagol through the south end, a few miles east from the dimensional gate, the entrance Janev and Mara take are through a cracked wall, which looks like it was torn open like a piece of paper, possibly where the guardian that attacked the city entered. There is an entrance to a building that looks like it leads underground, surrounded by some pillars with a statue that's been knocked over, and some plants on either side of the entrance.  Mara shrinks herself down, and winks to Janev before going inside. Janev then uses her special ability as a light elemental naga to turn invisible, waiting for anyone to unlucky enough to cross her hungry path.



Mara flew cautiously through the wide hallways of the large Sagolian Structures making sure that there were no traps lain about. Just because she's a fairy doesn't mean she's always safe. Learning that the hard way was depressing, but it taught her an important lesson in Felarya: there's no "top of the food chain" in this world.



It was curious that the floor and walls were lit.  Even though Mara can't see in the dark, she had plenty of light to see in the underground of Ur-Sagol, she looked around curiously, wondering what kind of magic the Ur-Sagolians used to make this happen.  Eventually, she came through the hallway into a large chasm-like room. Near the edge, she looked down to see an absence of light. Not even the lights from the lit walkways reached down below, so she made a left and kept flying.



There was an echo ahead. Someone was talking, so the fairy kept flying slowly, and saw not too far ahead, there was one man talking through a slit in the wall to someone else. He was wearing hard leather armor, and had an axe at his side, with short black hair.  Mara flew up behind him slowly, and quietly, making little-to-no sound flapping her wings as she used extrusions in the walls as cover for sneaking up on him. She wanted to make sure not to alert the rest of his friends, however many there are.



Mara closes in within five feet of the thug, but feeling something he turns around to see a fairy floating behind him with a happy expression on her face. Seeing her red hair, and pretty figure, he stumbles back over some rocks on the floor.



"c-c-crimson f-f-fairy!!" he exclaims, and turns around trying to run, but at that, mara flies in front of him, using an illusion, taught to her by the mist fairies.  At this, the thug freaks out, and runs down the hallway Mara came, which leads to only the exit that she used to enter.



The thug on the other side of the slotted wall, opens it to see no one in either direction, as Mara is pursuing her prey, chasing him out of the building, while an invisible Janev waits to the side, intending to pick him up as he exits. As the thug races forward, he looks back at the fairy behind him, she's easily keeping up with his running, and the hallway, although wide, has blocked off passageways keeping him moving toward the exit.



"must…keep…running…" he thinks to himself as he takes breaths, running up the ramp and out into the sunlight.  However, seeing him run outside means Mara has done part of her first job, and she flies down through the hallways to find more thugs.



Meanwhile, on the outside, Janev picks up the human who ran outside, slowly placing him into an enclosed area with no doors. Janev looks down at him as she drops him in. There are four walls, what look like they have been ripped from surrounding buildings to create a makeshift box, preventing him from escaping for a while.



While Janev and Mara playfully chase the thug's out of the underground, Bael has just managed to find the plant he was looking for. He bends down and sees that each of the leaves are in a different shape, responding to different magic types within the core of the plant.



"Ah here we go" he exclaims as he picks the plant from about mid-way across the stem, and opens his purity-enchanted pouch Sera gave him to preserve the plant, and stuffs it inside.



"Now for the book. Wherever it is.", he shrugs to himself before walking off, so far completely unaware as to what Mara and Janev are doing just half a mile from his position.  As he walks through the engraved hallways lit with some form of magic he couldn't recognize. Then again, as Ur-Sagol is an ancient city, they probably knew a lot of magic the current mages don't.  Bael kept walking through the hallways, which had books and various other furniture sprawled about amongst the rubble off the dimly lit maze.



"I wonder how they kept themselves from getting lost. Why are ancient ruins always so confusing?" He wondered as he walked continuously. At this point Mara and Bael were approaching a similar area. Mara was busy flushing out the thugs, being under the surface of the ancient ruins all she ran into were these thugs.



As Mara kept running into thugs she used her duplication magic she circled around them getting them to run in a different direction. Occasionally, a thug would try to slice her with their sword, or any sort of weapon they could quickly get too.  Once they gave up and ran, they see a straight hallway, as Mara has spent time as she goes blockading exits.  The various thugs, be they nekos or humans, all ran up to the exit where Janev was camping, camouflaged in broad daylight with her elemental ability.  The large house-box Janev had was getting full, now to about 6 people, forced her to make a second one on the other side of the ramp, making them look like broken monuments or obelisks to fit in with the others that were in the area.



At this point only 4 people were left down in the area where Mara was. As they saw her approach they ran into a fork. 2 people went forward, and one person went right. Coincidentally, the room that was directly ahead seemed to contain exactly what the frightened thugs were looking for, but as Mara tried to follow them, a door sealed itself between them.  Shrugging, Mara idly floated to the left, the only other way should could without going back, but just as she passed the door there was a loud thud, and a scream from the other side that grew quiet as it went on.  In the other room, the thugs walked blindly toward the center of the large room, which contained some treasures and what not. Lots of books and items were on the other end of the floor. However, as they approached the other side, the floor fell from beneath them, and they landed two levels lower.



"Not exactly a bottomless pit was it?" One them asked.

"Yeah, these people could do with a bit more originality-", but just as he said that the fallen floor cracked and broke against the other walls nearby, sending a chain reaction. The walls and floor started to rumble, and rocks of different sizes started falling from the ceiling above.



"What the-?", Bael ran into a near by room as the area around him slowly collapsed. Luckily the section he was in, was fairly strong already. Magic crystals around started to glow, and the cracked ceiling started holding itself together, at least in a small area. Mara darted left and right attempting to dodge the collapsing walls and roof, but as the dust rose from the falling debris, it became harder to see. Eventually Mara decided to hide in a room as well, next to the doorway, when a rock fell just in front of her, and at that point Bael, who was on the far end of the room in a smaller room in the corner got knocked unconscious around the same time that Mara did.



On the outside Janev heard a small rumbling noise as she sucked in one of the poor thugs Mara chased out, and swallowed him quickly.

"Hmm…?" she wondered, getting a little worried at what was going on down there.  It seems the inside of the structure is more violent than it is on the outside.  Janev and Mara were expecting predators and at least some danger, but it seems that it's fairly empty except for what is going on below.  Of course this is only one part of Ur-Sagol.



Meanwhile, in the maze of the underground rooms and hallways, Bael wakes up coughing.  Sitting up, he waits for his head to feel less dizzy as he brushes all the dust off his coat. Wondering what to do, he decides to look around the room to see if there's the book he needs is anywhere close. If it's under all those rocks it will be difficult to retrieve, so he gets to the closest bookcase, flipping through the books. It seems this is a private collection of sorts, since a lot of the books here aren't repeats of what he's been finding all over the place, some have magic spells that he hasn't seen before, or different variations on currently common spells.



On the other end of the room, a light groaning sound is heard as the fairy rubs her head, sitting up slightly against a wall as she looks around at the room, covered in dust, and rocks from the collapse. There were books lain around the rocky black floor, an empty silence fell across the long decorated hallway outside, some light from working lamps managed to provide a dimly lit greenish glow. With every light footsept Bael made against the floor, the fairy could hear. Slowly realizing someone was on the other side, she stopped groaning against the headache that had befallen her, and stood up clumsily. She had just missed a fatal injury when the high ceiling collapsed, its very lucky her wings weren't damaged. It would be painful to try and regrow damaged wings if she ended up in that state.



Coming to, she stopped thinking about that dreaded situation, and changed her attention to the matter at hand. It took a few seconds to get used the surrounding dust before she started walking carefully around the large pile of rubble that blocked most of the room. The mess stretched from her right, clumped against the wall and extended into the center of the room, with the larger rocks on bottom.  She saw the undamaged wall on the left side had a slight curve to it, going inward with strange looking runes on the edges. There were two glyphs of projection engraved on both ends of it. It seemed this was at some point a theater for telling stories and depicting images of some kind.



Turning around gently, with a book propped open in his left hand, Bael saw part of the fairy's body extending outward from behind the rocks.  He noticed as she turned her head toward him, meeting his eyes. His eyes naturally moved from her face down to her shoulder that was protruding from behind the rocks, and noticed she wasn't wearing a shirt.



"Excuse me miss-" he stammered loudly, on accident. He stopped midway through his statement as heard himself.  Since the general area had suffered a collapse, the loud sounds rang through his ears giving him a headache as well.